By Sportswriter Cao Jianjie

    ATHENS, Aug. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Tears of joy. Tears of sadness. Tears for just toughing it out. Tears to remember the beloved oneswho are looking down from heaven.

    The Olympics Games has seen so many tears-streaked faces as competitors cried out their emotions.

    The whole Chinese women's volleyball team wept openly and hugged each other at courtside after they came from two sets down to beat Russia in Saturday night's final, while a stunned Russia team sat on the bench in tears.

    China's first volleyball gold in 20 years and a heroic fightback by the team moved many Chinese on the stands to tears.

    "I cried shamelessly," said Chinese reporter Ma Yue, who watched one of the most dramatic volleyball games in the Peace andFriendship Stadium.

    "My friends called me from Beijing that they cried in front of TV," he said.

    Irini Merleni, whose 48kg gold medal was the first ever awardedin the women's wrestling, triggered a welter of weeping by the Ukrainian.

    Liu Xiang, whose world-record-equaling run in the men's 110m hurdles on Thursday won China's first ever gold in the Olympic men's athletics competition, choked to microphones and promised more miracles would come from him and Chinese athletes.

    Hicham El Guerrouji could not contain his joy either after being crowned as 1,500m champion.

    The Moroccan star runner, who fell in the 1986 Olympic final and was beaten to second four years ago, finally caught an elusiveOlympic gold.

    "Four years ago I cried tears of sadness, now there are tears of joy," said the world record holder and four-time world champion.

    American wrestler Rulon Gardner shed a tear not for losing his Olympic heavyweight gold but for having toughed out a career ladenwith tragedies.

    The 33-year-old had a meeting with death when stranded in temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius in a forest in 2002 causing him to lose a toe to frost bite. He also dislocated his shoulder in a motorbike accident last year.

    After winning a bronze medal, Gardner placed his blue boots on the mat to announce his retirement.

    His gesture mirrored that of Greek weightlifter Pyrros Dimas who bowed out after winning the bronze.

    In a touching scene, the 33-year-old three-time Olympic champion was given a five-minute ovation from the chanting, flag-waving crowd when he received his medal.

    "What happened today, during the award ceremony, has never happened before," said Dimas, fighting back tears.

    As Britain's title-hopeful Paula Radcliffe quit the women's marathon exhausted and in distress in the 35 degrees heat, the British press shed tears with her.

    "The tears of a heroine," cried a Daily Mirror headline.

    Tears cannot always arouse sympathy.

    Greek weightlifter Leonidas Sampanis was reduced to tears afterbeing stripped of his bronze medal. These tears couldn't move anybody since in sports there is no shortage of cheaters and liarsshedding crocodile tears.

    In the Olympics, tears were also shed in memory of those deceased.

    Germany's Christian Gille dedicated his C2 1,000m gold medal tohis former canoeing partner who died of leukemia in June.

    After winning the women's softball crown, American players and head coach Mike Candrea shed tears remembering of the coach's wife Sue, who had been a motherly figure to the team and died of a brain aneurysm a month ago. Enditem